


Me In You, You In Me

by fromstarlighttodust



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Blow Jobs, Awkward Boners, Bodyswap, Comedy, General Awkwardness, Hurt/Comfort, I didn't mean to make it funny, Youre welcome internet friends, and also, but it happened, but it was an accident, i love that that is a tag, it's accurate, underage tag because canon ages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 16:58:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19338721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromstarlighttodust/pseuds/fromstarlighttodust
Summary: When an experiment goes wrong, Levi and Eren end up in swapped bodies. Unfortunately, existing as each other until they can figure out how to reverse it turns out to be more difficult than they had anticipated. Ultimately, it leads to a journey of hard truths, mutual discovery and a greater understanding of one another--not to mention an appreciation for being themselves.





	Me In You, You In Me

“Levi!” Hanji called, bounding out into the hallway.

“What? Are you done with him?” Levi straightened from where he had been leaning on the wall. Hanji had been running some kind of experiment of Eren and, as usual, Levi was on babysitting duty. To this day, he wasn’t sure if he was babysitting Eren or Hanji.

“Almost! I want to test something!” Hanji grinned and there was a sinking feeling in the pit of Levi’s stomach.

“You better not be saying you want to test anything on me, Shitty Glasses,” Levi growled.

“But, you’re the only one here!” Hanji whined. “And it’s really important.”

“Absolutely not,” Levi crossed his arms. He had been around Hanji long enough to know that if they wanted him to drink something, it was probably a bad plan and if they wanted to inject him with something, it was a worse plan.

“Just hear me out!” Hanji exclaimed. “I’ve been working with Eren to try and create a serum that can give the person receiving it temporary regenerative powers. Imagine what this could do to medicine, Levi! We could heal severed limbs!”

Levi sighed. “I’m not going to grow a second head or some shit, am I?”

“No, no! Not at all. The worst that happens is nothing happens,” Hanji waved their hands.

Levi heaved a second sigh. He was going to regret this, he just knew it. “Arlight, fine.”

“Yes!” Hanji exclaimed, grabbing Levi’s wrist and dragging him back into the lab. Levi responded to their continued rambles with lackluster enthusiasm. Marginally more effort was given to nodding at Eren who had smiled at him apologetically.

“Oi, how are you going to tell it works?” Levi asked, suddenly.

“Well, we’re going to have to give you a little injury…” Hanji smiled sheepishly. “Nothing bad. Just a little nick will do.”

“Hanji-san!” Eren sounded scandalized.

“It’s fine,” Levi shot the kid a look to calm him down before he took out his pocket knife, rolled up his sleeve and carefully ran the blade along his own skin, a thin trail of blood remaining in its wake.

“Okay! Now I just inject you with this…” Hanji held up a needle and Levi could feel the apprehension wash over him with gusto, even as he held out his arm with his usual blank face.

The needle sunk into his vein and Hanji injected whatever concoction they had cooked up. For a few moments, three sets of eyes watched the cut on Levi’s arm, looking for any sign of change. When nothing happened, Levi sighed. “Looks like it didn’t work. Come on, kid, it’s almost dinner time.”

As he moved to straighten up from where he had been casually leaning against the wall as they waited, he suddenly felt incredibly light headed. He blinked several times to try and focus his eyes as the world went blurry. The last thing he registered was the fuzzy blob that now was Eren collapsed to the floor. “Eren,” he tried to step forward, but then everything went black.

 

``~`**`~``

 

“What the fuck?” Levi sat bolt upright from where he was laying on the floor, his consciousness returning to him like a slap to the face.

“Oh my god, Eren!” Hanji’s face was frighteningly close.

“What’s wrong with Eren?” Levi demanded.

Confusion flashed across Hanji’s face and she looked at him curiously. “Well, right now, he’s talking in third person?”

“What?” Levi glared at Hanji. “Where is he?”

“Uh…” Hanji reached out and placed her hand against Levi’s forehead as if they were checking for a fever. Levi shoved their hand away. “You’re Eren? So right here?”

“Excuse me? What the fuck, four eyes? What are you on? I’m not Eren,” Levi glared harder. What kind of stupid joke was this?

“Ugh… Hanji-san? Captain?” A voice called from Levi’s left and he felt all of the hair stand up on the back of his neck, because that voice was familiar in ways that shouldn’t be possible.

Levi watched, with growing horror, as he himself sat up and blinked sleepily at them. “What have you done, Hanji?” Levi whispered and he stared down at his own hands, the skin a tanned brown, fingers much too long, palms too big.

“AH!” His own voice assaulted him with a scream and his eyes shot back up to find a familiar pale finger pointed at his face. “That’s me! What’s happening? Is this a dream?”

Oh god, his voice should never sound that frantic. “Calm down, kid,” Levi said calmly. How had he not noticed how wrong the voice coming out of his mouth sounded when he first woke up? “It looks like Hanji fucked something up big time, but they’ll fix it, right, Shitty Glasses?”

“Wait, you’re Levi? And you’re Eren?” Hanji was pointing at them in confusion.

“I’m Levi,” Levi confirmed. “I’m guessing that’s Eren.”

“Uh… Oh my god,” Hanji looked overwhelmed for the first time ever, but then they sprung into action, grabbing a notebook and scribbling in it. 

“Captain?” Eren was staring at Levi with wide eyes. “Am… Am I you?”

“It seems so,” Levi rolled his eyes.

“Oh.  _ Oh _ ,” Eren leapt up and ran out into the hall. Levi sent a desperate look at Hanji before they both followed him, Levi nearly tripping over himself several times before he managed to run with any form of efficiency. They found him in the bathroom, giggling quietly while making faces at himself in the mirror. 

“Seriously,” Levi just stared.

“Captain! Your face is so expressive if you just let it be!” Eren turned and grinned at them.

“Don’t make that face with my face,” Levi growled out.

“Oh god, Levi’s smiling,” Hanji breathed.

“Incorrect. Levi is not amused,” Levi replied.

“Technicalities,” Hanji squealed.

Suddenly, it occurred to him that he was looking down at Eren. Oh. Is this was it was like to be tall? He pivoted to look at Hanji. Their eye level was the same. “I’m as tall as you,” he said before he could stop himself.

Hanji grinned. “That you are.”

Heh. Levi could get used to being tall. He had always wondered what it was like, but the malnutrition forced on pretty much everyone in the underground accompanied with shitty genes had robbed him of any chance of finding out before this had happened. “Not bad,” he muttered.

“As much fun as this is, I think we’re going to have to tell Erwin. I don’t know what went wrong with my formula to cause this, but I need to figure that out before I can fix it,” Hanji tapped their chin. “So you two might have to exist as each other for a while.”

Levi’s brows pinched in concern before he made the conscious effort to smooth them out. Why did Eren’s muscles seem to react before Levi could put on his usual mask of apathy? So irritating. “And we can’t tell anyone else. There would be mass panic if it became known that Humanity’s Last Hope and Humanity’s Strongest were both effectively out of commission.”

“Why are we out of commission?” Eren asked curiously.

“Because I don’t know how to make these stupid long arms and legs work right and you don’t know how to work with my strength and agility,” Levi replied.

Eren’s mouth fell open in an ‘o’ and Levi felt his eye twitch. Before he could reprimand Eren again for making stupid faces as him, Hanji grabbed them both by the arms and dragged them towards Erwin’s office.

 

``~`**`~``

 

Erwin had agreed with the idea that no one else should be told. As Eren and Levi left the office to head to the dining hall, with strict instructions to act like each other and for both of them to show up at the training field the next morning so that they could see if they could function in any capacity.

“Captain,” Eren whispered, leaning close to Levi.

“What?” Levi turned his head and was momentarily surprised he had to look down a bit. Stupid giant kid.

“I have to pee,” Eren fidgeted in place.

Levi was relatively certain that the amount of disdain he looked at the teen with had never before graced Eren’s face. “So go to the bathroom. What are you telling me for?”

“But…” Eren looked down forlornly and it took several seconds for Levi to realize that Eren was looking at his own crotch. Levi’s crotch, if they were to be entirely correct. It was still his body, dammit.

“What’s wrong with you,” Levi hissed.

“Captain,” Eren looked up in desperation. “I don’t want to touch your…” 

Well. That was something they had yet to think of, wasn’t it? It was a little odd to think that they were technically touching each other’s junk. “Just go fucking piss, Eren,” Levi rolled his eyes.

“But it’s your… Thing!” Eren looked frantic.

“For the love of god,” Levi glared. “So you’re planning on giving my body kidney failure. I see.”

“No! That’s not--” Eren was all but flailing now.

“Look, kid, just don’t do anything inappropriate and it won’t be a problem,” Levi ran his hand down his face.

“I… I think I’ll just hold it for now,” Eren whispered. The look of sheer terror was an expression that Levi had never wanted to see on his own face.

“My god,” Levi sighed and grabbed Eren’s arm, pulling him towards the bathroom. “We will never speak of this again.”

“What?” Eren looked confused as he let Levi manhandle him into position in front of the toilet. 

Levi sighed again and reached around Eren, unzipping his fly and pulling out the dick in question. “Go.”

“This is weird,” Eren said quietly.

“No shit,” Levi replied, feeling an uncontrollable blush spreading across his face.  _ Seriously, what is wrong with this body. _

Finally, Eren released and they both stood in awkward silence until he was finished. Once everything was put away again, Levi went and washed his hands in the sink, Eren standing off to the side, again fidgeting. “Thank you, Captain…”

Levi studied the tanned hands he was currently watching. “You know, you didn’t want to touch my dick, but these are your hands so technically now you’ve had them all over it.”

Eren sputtered behind him, and Levi smirked at him in the mirror. After a few moments, Eren bit his lip. “You have to be friendly with Mikasa and Armin.”

“You have to ignore literally everything,” Levi shot back.

“I’m more worried about you,” Eren shrugged. “I just have to look like I don’t give a fuck about the universe. You have to joke around with my friends.”

“Is that what you think of me?” Levi said quietly, turning to face Eren. 

Eren looked surprised for a moment before he shook his head. “No. But that’s the vibe you try and make everyone believe.”

Levi grunted out his nose and looked away. After a few moments, he spoke. “If anyone talks to you for too long, just stare at them without making any faces and they’ll go away.”

Eren laughed quietly. “I think I can manage, Captain. Now, you have to smile like me.”

“Physically impossible,” Levi replied immediately.

“Not at all. I know how that face works. It’s not hard,” Eren crossed his arms.

“Now you look like me,” Levi brushed it off. 

Eren rolled his eyes. “I feel like we need a signal for rescue.”

“What, SOS how do I laugh, Captain, help?” Levi deadpanned.

Eren huffed out a laugh, trying to reel it in. After a few moments though, he lost, laughing wholeheartedly. “No... No I think that might be suspicious. If I was going to look for help for laughing I would not be going to you.”

Levi smirked. “And why the fuck not.”

“Well, you just told me to stare down anyone who talks to me. You don’t strike me as the type,” Eren pointed out.

“I could laugh if I wanted to,” Levi narrowed his eyes.

“So why don’t you?” Eren asked.

“I haven’t found a good reason to in a while,” Levi muttered, looking away.

The smile fell from Eren’s face. “Okay.”

Levi’s eyes shot back to him, shock written on his features. He had kind of expected the kid to make some grand proclamation about making it a quest to make Levi laugh, but Eren was just looking at him with a softness in his eyes that made Levi vaguely uncomfortable. It wasn’t that he didn’t want this reaction. In fact, it was preferable to anything else that Eren could have said, but that was the thing. He hadn’t expected it. Eren had never been the type to understand so profoundly, he was more a ‘dive in head first and hope for the best’ type, or that’s what Levi had always thought. It wasn’t that the kid wasn’t smart--no, he was absolutely brilliant in the most bizarre of ways, but he was hot headed and driven almost entirely by sheer determination. This was a nice change to see.

After a few seconds, Levi forced his face into a smile. “There,” he muttered.

“Uh… No,” Eren’s eyes widened slightly. “Better idea? Don’t do that ever again. You somehow managed to make me look terrifying.”

“You’ve done that yourself,” Levi shot back.

“What?” Eren blinked in confusion.

“Sometimes you… Fuck, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just tell your little buddies that I’m tired and maybe they’ll just leave me the fuck alone,” Levi looked away. Sometimes, when Eren wasn’t fully recovered from transformations and he muttered about killing titans with a big, stupid grin on his face, he looked downright creepy, so Levi could imagine just what kind of look he had just made. Thankfully, Eren dropped it.

They made their way to the mess hall side by side, which at least wasn’t incredibly weird. It wasn’t unusual for Levi to be escorting Eren places after experiments. However, Eren was beginning to look physically ill and  _ that _ was unusual.

“Captain, I don’t think I can do this,” Eren whispered.

Levi stopped, eyeing Eren from a moment. “Buck up, soldier. We can do this. You’ve got the easy end of the stick. Just don’t overreact and you’ll be fine. Show your face, don’t talk to anyone but Hanji and Erwin and then get the fuck out of there. I’ll meet you back at my quarters as soon as I can. I’m going to be over here thinking of sunshine and rainbows and shit to not seem like you’re dying.”

Eren snorted softly, successfully reigning in his amusement and actually managing to sound a little bit like Levi. At least he was looking a little less green. Levi took that was a win. “You’re gonna be fine, kid. Now, put on an air of confidence and walk in there, get a tray and go straight to the officer’s table.”

Eren paled slightly again. “I don’t think I can fake the kind of confidence you have, Captain.”

Levi pursed his lips. “You wanna know a secret?”

Eren nodded. “Okay.”

“It’s always fake. Now get out there,” Levi patted Eren’s shoulder and then turned and strode into the mess hall, following his own advice, getting a tray of food and beelining for the table Eren usually sat at. Sinking into the available seat, situated between Armin and Mikasa, he looked up and watched Eren make his way across the mess hall, get his food and then sit a little closer to Hanji than Levi would have. Over all, he seemed to be pulling off the act well enough. Levi smiled slightly when Eren stared at Hanji blankly while she rambled at him enthusiastically. Yeah, the kid seemed like he was doing just fine.

“You’re staring again,” Armin teased softly, leaning into Levi’s space.

“Huh?” Levi turned to him and looked at the blonde who was smiling knowingly at him.

“One of these days Captain Levi is going to notice you’re always staring,” Armin replied.

_ What? Well, he’s certainly noticed now.  _ “What are you talking about?” Levi frowned.

“Honestly, at this rate it would probably just be faster to tell him you have a crush,” Armin rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, the faster Jaeger tells him, the faster he gets his ass kicked and can move on,” Jean leaned across the table with a smug look on his face.

Levi’s mouth fell open. Immediately, he was out of his depth. How was he supposed to deal with this? What would Eren do? He sent a slightly desperate look at the officer’s table, knowing there was no way for him to get help without having to admit what Eren’s friends had just told him. Instead, he glared down at the table, trying to channel Eren’s determined fire and told the truth. “Captain Levi wouldn’t beat me up for that.”

“Yeah, right. Because you have  _ such _ a special bond with him as his personal punching bag and favorite cleaning rag,” Jean laughed and suddenly, Levi understood completely why Eren was always getting into fights with the bastard.

And that was an idea, wasn’t it? If Levi got into a fight with Jean, then Eren would have to step in and stop it and separate them. Before Levi could finish deciding, though, Mikasa took over the situation. “Cut it out, Jean. Leave Eren alone. We don’t need you two to get in trouble  _ again _ .”

Fuck. There goes his escape plan. Levi huffed. “I could have handled it,” he muttered.

“And you,” Mikasa turned to Levi. “Are you feeling okay? You’ve been awfully subdued.” Mikasa’s fingers gently pushed Levi’s hair off his face and he just managed to not flinch away from the touch. Eren wouldn’t flinch. Mikasa was his sister. She was allowed to touch him.

Levi opened his mouth and then sighed. “Experiments today weren’t easy.”

Mikasa pursed her lips and Armin nodded understandingly, patting Levi’s shoulder. “What did Hanji-san have you doing today?”

God, did these kids ever stop talking? Couldn’t Levi just sit here in peace? His eyes fell back on the officer’s table and this time he saw Eren watching him. The stupid brat had the audacity to smirk slightly when they made eye contact and Levi narrowed his eyes in response. He could practically hear Eren’s voice in his head, taunting his inability to be as carefree as the kid. He didn’t know how much more he could take.

“They are trying to make a serum out of Er--my blood that can heal injuries,” Levi finally answered.

“So they’ve taken a lot of your blood? That explains why you look so tired,” Armin nodded understandingly.

Oh, you have no idea, Levi thought, his eyes finding Eren across the room again. “Yeah…”

“You’re staring again,” Armin teased.

Levi’s eyes snapped to the blonde and he frowned. “He was staring at me, too,” he grumbled in frustration.

All eyes at the table were suddenly turning towards the officer’s table and Levi shifted uncomfortably, realizing his mistake a moment too late. He was sure that the last thing Eren wanted was attention drawn to him right now. To his surprise, Eren just continued to blankly stare at the table of curious meerkats for a few moments before raising an eyebrow and then going back to his dinner. Damn, he had Levi’s mannerisms pretty down pat. The kid really did spend a lot of time watching him, didn’t he?

“Ooooh,” Connie sounded downright gleeful. “This is how it starts. Eren watches the Captain, the Captain watches Eren and the next thing we know we’re going to have to knock on every supply closet before walking into it.”

“What?” Levi growled harshly.

“He looked like he wanted to eat you,” Sasha said knowingly.

“I hate admitting this, but I think they’re right,” Jean nodded along. “Captain Levi was totally looking at you and I don’t think it was because he has some anger to work out on your face.” 

Levi bristled. “Why do you keep referencing him beating me up?” Levi demanded. “He doesn’t hit me that often… Does he?”

“Look, Jaeger, we can’t help it if you’re some kind of masochist, crushing on the dude who likes to intimately acquaint your teeth with his boots on the regular,” Jean shrugged.

“On the regular…” Levi bit his lip. Was he abusive towards Eren? It had never occurred to him before, but now that he thought about it, he did toss the kid around a lot, mainly when Eren was being too stubborn for his own good, but surely there were better ways to get through to him than a boot to the face. Now that he knew what he did, courtesy of Eren’s overly chatty friends, Levi couldn’t stop the overwhelming feeling of guilt sweeping through him. He had to apologize the Eren as soon as possible, and definitely stop hitting him. 

“Oh my god, Jean, what have you done? He looks like he questioning all of his life choices. Don’t give up your crush just because Captain’s a little bit of a jackass. Maybe just stop pissing him off enough that he beats you up,” Connie waved his hands.

“No, I think you should just forget about that abusive asshole,” Mikasa grumbled darkly.

“To be honest, none of us really know what you see in that douchebag,” Jean shrugged. “Sure, he’s an amazing soldier but he treats you like shit.”

“If you do end up in some sort of relationship with him, you should probably talk to him about it,” Armin said gently. “It’s one thing if he’s kicking you around as your commanding officer, even if we don’t like it, but if he does it while you’re dating or whatever, that’s domestic abuse.”

“Maybe if you cooked food for him he’d be nicer,” Sasha said with big eyes. “Maybe something with meat.”

While the cadet’s opinions of him were surprising, Levi didn’t really have an argument against them. In fact, he agreed with most of their assessments. It was clear to Levi that he had to reevaluate his approach to Eren. He didn’t realize it had been that bad. But what shocked him more than the reveal of his apparent abuse, was the fact that he wasn’t even all that upset about the fact that they were casually talking about him and Eren being a couple. Seriously, what was wrong with him? Was it something about being in Eren’s body? He knew that it was entirely inappropriate for a soldier and their commanding officer to have any kind of personal relations, especially when it was a situation like his and Eren’s, and yet… He found the idea didn’t bother him. In fact, Levi found that the idea of kissing Eren didn’t sound all that bad.

Shooting straight up, out of his seat, turning off that line of thinking as soon as it made its way out of his brain, Levi took a step back from the table, his eyes searching for Eren across the room. He was gone. “I, uh… I forgot there was something I had to do.”

As he hastily made his way out of the room, he could hear Jean whispering too loudly behind him. “Great, now he’s going to go confess and we’re going to have to deal with the aftermath of that shit.”

Even more concerning than what he had just been thinking was the heat pooling between Levi’s legs at the moment. He looked down at the body he as in with a look of pure betrayal on his face. Why? Why was this happening? As he rounded the next corner and barreled towards his quarters, his frustration grew. Slamming the door open and charging inside, he collided with Eren.

“Jaeger,” he hissed, slamming the door shut behind him.

Eren looked surprised. “Captain?”

“Care to explain to me why I have a boner right now?” Levi growled.

“Uh…” Eren stared at him blankly. “Um… S-sometimes that h-happens to people when… T-they think d-dirty thoughts?”

Levi growled in frustration. “I know the logistics of getting one, you shitstain. I’m asking you why your body just popped one out of nowhere.”

“O-oh,” Eren stuttered. “Uh… I’m 16.”

“Fucking teenagers,” Levi groaned. “I  _ never _ wanted to have to go through this shit again.”

“Um… Sorry?” Eren said, sounding almost sheepish. 

“I shouldn’t have to deal with this bullshit. I’m thirt--” Levi stopped. The abruptness Levi cut himself off with had Eren looking at him curiously.

“Thirty… What?” He asked. 

“Why do you want to know?” Levi tried to inject his voice with venom, but it came out more wary than anything else.

“I’m just curious. I just realized that I don’t actually know how old you are,” Eren shrugged.

Levi shifted uncomfortably for a few moments before he sighed. Eren was stuck in his body, he should at least know as much as Levi knew about it, never mind that Levi was now pretty certain that Eren was curious for particular reasons he was clued in on at dinner. “Thirty something. I don’t actually know. By best estimates I’m somewhere between twenty eight and thirty five.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Eren blinked at him.

The incredulous look on Eren’s face should piss him off, but it just made Levi heave a sigh. “I was born in the underground. I lived there until I joined the survey corps. With no sun, it’s a bit difficult to tell the passing of time. Plus, when my mother died, the only person with knowledge of when my birthday is was gone so Hanji estimated based on blood work and how long I’ve been in the corps vs how old they assume I was when I joined up.”

“Wait, I thought your birthday was December 25th?” Eren tilted his head to the side. 

“Stop looking like a lost puppy with my face, dumbass. It looks wrong,” Levi crossed his arms. “Hanji picked the date because apparently I had to have one for paperwork reasons.” 

“Oh,” Eren seemed to think it over for a few moments before shrugging again. “Okay.”

There it was again. That baffling understanding that Levi hadn’t realized that Eren possessed. He sighed and walked over to his desk, looking at the half finished reports on it, knowing that they would have to wait. He couldn’t ask Eren to do them and the kid’s handwriting was chicken scratch compared to Levi’s carefully formed letters.

“Do you want me to finish those?” Eren asked quietly.

“You would do that?” Levi turned, surprised.

“Well, yeah. I’m you for now,” Eren grinned. Somehow Levi didn’t hate the expression on his face.

Levi nodded mutely and Eren settled at the desk and got to work. Surprisingly, Eren worked quickly, knocking out the reports faster than Levi ever would have been able to. “How are you doing that so fast?”

Eren paused and looked at Levi thoughtfully for a few moments, as if he was thinking over his words carefully. “Well… No offense, Captain, but you write a bit slow.”

Levi felt an uncontrollable blush spreading across his face and his stupid mouth spoke before he could stop it. Stupid body acting before his brain said it could. “Well, I think I write pretty well for someone who only learned how in their twenties.”

Eren didn’t move. He didn’t continue the reports, he didn’t blink, Levi was pretty sure the kid wasn’t even breathing for a moment there. He just sat there and watched Levi like he was some kind of mythical creature. Finally, he opened his mouth. “In that case, yes, you’re excellent at it.”

Levi flushed in shame and turned away from Eren. Stupid, impulsive, big mouth that Levi couldn’t control. Stupid pretty face that turned colors against his will. Stupid Eren for being so calm. How could he sit there, all calm and collected like Levi hadn’t admitted what he just had. “Shut up…” he muttered.

“Who taught you?” Eren asked softly.

Levi chewed on his lip for a moment before he breathed softly. “Mike.”

Eren made a little noise of understanding and then Levi could hear the scratch of the pen on paper again. After a while, Eren started again. “I’m kind of relieved to see you are struggling as much as I am.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Levi snapped, turning back to Eren.

“Your emotions,” Eren blinked up at him innocently. “You can’t hide them in my body. For me, it’s like I’m wading through a river for each one to be outwardly expressed.”

“Is that why you just keep saying okay when you hear something about me?” Levi asked before he could stop himself. It would make sense, that being why Eren was suddenly so accepting, but for some reason that made Levi ache to think.

“What? No,” Eren laughed quietly. “I just didn’t think you’d appreciate it if I freaked out over every little thing. Plus, you’re you and your history is what makes you as such so… I guess I don’t really have any desire to lose my mind over things. I like who you are.”

“Oh yeah?” Levi smirked.

“That looks weird on my face,” Eren raised an eyebrow. “But--Yeah.”

“How much?” Levi pushed. Levi watched as the tips of Eren’s ears turned bright red. A sign he knew intimately well was probably the only indication of embarrassment that he was going to see on that body.

“W-What?” Eren stuttered.

“Your friends talk a lot,” Levi said casually.

“Fuck, what did they tell you?” There was panic in Eren’s eyes and Levi almost snickered. Almost.

“Well, for one they have a very… colorful opinion of me,” Levi studied his nails. He attempted to appear indifferent for a few moments, but then his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Eren. I didn’t realize that I kicked you around so often.”

“What? No--I mean… You do, but it’s only when--” Eren started, but Levi cut him off.

“Don’t! Do not finish that sentence,” Levi said sharply. “It’s not an excuse, but you know I was raised by my uncle and in that world, discipline often meant… Well, worse than I do to you and I… I should have known better than to turn that around on you. So, I’m sorry.”

Eren stared at him for a few moments and then shook his head. “It’s fine, Captain.”

“It’s not,” Levi said stubbornly.

Eren hesitated. “What do you want me to say? That I hate you for it?”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did,” Levi crossed his arms.

“I don’t hate you. I kind of thought that… Maybe it made you feel better to get your aggression out,” Eren bit his lip.

Levi’s mouth dropped open. “That’s  _ so much worse _ ,” he hissed.

Eren gaped at him. “I… I never even thought of it as a bad thing, to be honest, Captain.”

“Okay. Look, kid. If I ever hit you again, you have my express permission to haul off and punch me in the nose with absolutely no repercussions,” Levi ran his hand down his face. “In fact, that’s an order.”

“C-Captain,” Eren began, but Levi cut him off again.

“No arguments, Jaeger,” Levi said sharply.

“Uh… O-okay,” Eren muttered. “In other news, Hanji-san told me that the commander isn’t worried about you losing control so we don’t have to chain you up in the basement for the night!”

Levi nodded absentmindedly. “So where am I staying?”

“I guess… Here? I can sleep on the couch,” Eren shrugged.

Levi pursed his lips. “Trust me, you’re not going to want to do that.”

“What?” Eren looked confused.

Levi froze. He wasn’t particularly keen on telling Eren about his aches and pains if the kid hadn’t noticed yet. “That couch sucks for sleeping on,” he said finally.

“Oh. So…” Eren looked confused.

“We can share,” Levi said after a pause. “Just don’t touch me and if you kick in your sleep, I’ll fucking kill you.”

Eren nodded dutifully and pretty soon, they both made their way to bed. It was a bit weird, laying next to Eren in the dark, but the kid seemed to fall asleep relatively quickly, with his back to Levi and eventually, Levi followed him into sleep.

 

``~`**`~``

 

“This isn’t working,” Eren frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, it’s not,” Levi agreed. He was panting. Why was he panting. 

They had been trying to master basic training techniques for the better part of four hours now, supervised by Hanji. Levi had spent more time on his ass on the ground than in the air, the arms and legs he now possessed seeming determined to make him fall, not to mention he was slower and less agile than he was accustomed to. Eren, however was overshooting everything, flying past ever goal at super speed like he was some kind of projectile. Both of them were understandably frustrated.

“Maybe you should take the gear off and run some laps?” Hanji offered.

“I haven’t run laps since I was a a brand new recruit,” Levi glared.

“So it’ll be good for you, Captain,” Eren grinned. “Hell, it’ll probably be easier for you than it is for me. My body’s used to it.”

“Wipe that smile off my face, you shit,” Levi growled out, but unstrapped his gear and got into position while Eren rushed to get ready too.

“Make it a race?” Eren asked.

“Yeah, you can watch yourself beat you,” Levi sent a small smirk to Eren and they were off.

But those stupid gangly limbs, dammit, they were  _ determined _ to trip him up, really who needs legs this long? Before Levi really knew what was happening, he was tripping over his feet, and falling to the ground. Unable to coordinate those dumb long arms to catch himself in time, he squeezed his eyes shut and prepared himself for impact.

An explosion. There had been an explosion. Levi’s vision swam in and out of clarity. The first thing the registered was he was on his hands and knees. He looked down, trying to focus and with perfect clarity, his eyes fell on his body, tiny and between his splayed fingers. His eyes widened.  _ Eren _ .

Eren was looking up at him in shock, two feet from being squashed under Levi’s now giant fingers. Fuck. Was he a titan? Oh shit, why hadn’t they thought of this? Eren was a titan shifter, if Levi was in his body… Oh god. He almost killed Eren.

Without realizing it, Levi had reared back and shuffled to get away from Eren. He only realized he had done it when his back collided with one of the buildings behind them, a sickening crack coming from the wood and brick.  _ Oh holy fucking shit _ .  _ I’m going to kill someone _ . Levi’s mind screamed.

Before he really knew what was going on Levi was up and running. Sprinting away from other people, away from where he could hurt anyone. For the first time in a long time, he felt true terror shoot through him. 

 

``~`**`~``

 

Eren could almost see the thought process going through his captain’s head. He could practically see the fear in his titan eyes. “Don’t run,” Eren whispered, trying to convey calmness, but of course, before the words were fully out of his mouth, Levi was up and sprinting towards the training forrest. Crap.

“Get me a horse!” Eren shouted and was momentarily surprised when a recruit jolted and ran to comply. Well, there were advantages to having his captain’s body after all. He quickly began to strap his gear back into place. He probably was going to need it.

“Eren,” Hanji ran up to him and grabbed his arm. “Levi’s a titan!”

“Yes, he is. He’s my titan,” Eren said calmly. “And he’s panicking.”

“What, why?” Hanji tilted their head to the side.

“Because he doesn’t know how to be one,” Eren pursed his lips. “It’s… Foggy and difficult to control. He’s scared and we have to go get him before the titan takes over.”

“Takes over?” Hanji blinked.

“Yes. Like when I get over taxed and go a bit feral, except much worse,” Eren clarified. Hanji was about to respond when the recruit returned with the saddled horse. Eren flung himself into the saddle and looked down at Hanji. “I’m going to get him back. Follow the probable trail of destruction.”

When Eren found Levi, he was sitting on the ground in the training forest, his knees pulled up to his chest, back against a tree. Dismounting the horse, he stood in front of the giant titan. “Captain?”

No response. The titan just stared straight ahead, not moving. Eren bit his bottom lip and then used his gear to bring himself up to Levi’s shoulder. He overt shot it again, cursing quietly to himself when he collided with the neck in front of him, unhooking his gear from the flesh almost immediately, because he was certain Levi wasn’t going to get up any time soon and he was intimately familiar with how much that actually hurt. Being pierced wasn’t comfortable, and no one had ever bothered to ask him, even though Eren knew it was needed for people to ride on his titan.

“You’re scared,” Eren said quietly. “I know you are. I’ve been in there. It’s hard to see, hard to focus. You feel like if you don’t concentrate you’ll slip into the abyss that’s looming under you, so you’re concentrating as hard as you can. You found a goal and now you’re concentrating on it. I’m guessing that goal is don’t move at this point, and that’s okay, Captain, but eventually the titan is going to start to fight you for control and you’ve seen me in that state. You have to come out. I know you don’t know how and frankly, I’m not comfortable with the idea of cutting you out of there, I don’t trust myself enough, but I can walk you through how to do it yourself.”

Eren paused and leaned his head against that giant neck next to him. “It’s going to be okay, Captain. I’ve got you. Just let go. Let it all go. All the pain, the fear, the emotion. Let it all go like you’re exhaling it and lean backwards. Not--Not the titan, you,” Eren clarified as the titan shifted slightly and his hand shot out instinctively to latch on to some strands of hair, gripping tightly so he wouldn’t fall. “Open your eyes and lean back. It’s--It’s going to feel wrong. Like you’re ripping bits of you off, but that’s fine. That’s normal. You have to tear yourself out. Anything you leave behind will grow back… I’m sorry if it hurts. It’s going to hurt.”

It took several minutes, Hanji and a few members of her squad arriving before Levi managed it, but Eren waved them off, still muttering reassurances into Levi’s giant titan ear, but finally Levi managed to rip himself out of the titan. Eren immediately leapt over to where he was and helped him down to the ground. He was shaking. Levi hadn’t been that scared of anything--especially not of himself--in a very long time. 

“Levi! What was it like? How’d it feel? Was it fun? Oh, I’m so jealous!” Hanji rambled, bouncing around Levi and Eren.

“If… If you’d excuse me… I’m going to go chain  _ myself _ in the basement. I am a walking hazard,” Levi whispered.

Eren looked at him with sad, understanding eyes for a moment before he stood and scooped Levi into his arms, tossing him up onto his horse. Jumping up behind him, Eren laughed softly. “You know,” he said softly. “This is the first time today that I’ve been grateful for this body’s strength. It was a pain in the ass earlier.”

“You’re telling me my body is a pain in the ass after what just happened to me,” Levi replied with a glare.

Eren laughed again. “That’s fair, I suppose. Now hunch forward, I can’t see over your shoulder.”

 

``~`**`~``

 

Once back at the base, Eren carried Levi all the way to Levi’s quarters despite his protests, placed him on the bed with utmost care and wrapped a blanket around him.

“What are you doing, Jaeger?” Levi asked, trying to sound irritated, but more bewildered than anything. He hadn’t been kidding about locking himself in the basement.

“Just trust me, Captain,” Eren replied with a little smile. “You stay right there, I’ll be right back.”

Levi stared after him as he left the room. It wasn’t like he could really go anywhere, Eren had wrapped him up like a burrito, and as promised, Eren returned a little while later with a mug of tea. He settled on the bed next to Levi and pulled him against his chest, stuck a straw into the tea and offered the straw to Levi. After a few seconds, Levi took a sip and them muttered. “This is truly ridiculous.”

“I’m sure it is,” Eren replied cheerfully, but then his voice dropped to a serious note. “But I know. I’ve been where you are. I’ve been scared of myself and the thing that made me not hate myself was you. Do you remember when I exploded out a titan arm to grab a spoon in the middle of lunch? The only person who didn’t want me dead in that moment was you. You trusted me enough to put your back to me and you have no idea how much that meant to me. You’ve… You’ve always believed in me and helped me and if I can offer you even a little of the comfort you’ve given me, them I want to do it.”

“You’re an idiot,” Levi muttered, but he willingly took the straw into his mouth when Eren offered it again.

“So, Captain,” Eren said quietly. “Are we going to talk about the fact that I have sharp shooting pain going up and down my leg right now?”

Without thinking, Levi shrugged. “That means it’s going to rain.”

“That casual, huh? Not at all shocked?” Eren asked.

Levi hesitated and then sighed. “Nope. Not at all.”

“You never let it heal right, did you? This is… This is the injury you got from saving me, isn’t it?” Eren said quietly.

Levi hesitated, but then nodded. “I couldn’t be down for any longer than absolutely necessary. The soldiers need Humanity’s Strongest at peak performance.”

Eren was silent for a while but he finally sighed softly. “You’d give up everything for the cause, wouldn’t you?”

Levi didn’t answer. Of course he would. This was the choice he had made. After a while, Ere started talking again. “You know, Sir, it’s not selfish to look after yourself, too.”

Levi frowned. “I know that, but I’m more symbol than person now.”

Eren was quiet at that. At least for several minutes. “I used to see you as the symbol, too, but… After a while I started to realize that you’re just a man.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Levi spat.

“Exactly what it sounds like. Under it all, you’re just Levi,” Eren shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not a bad thing. I think when I started realizing that is when I--” Eren snapped his mouth shut and the tips of his ears started to flame red as he stared at the bed.

“Thank you,” Levi said quietly.

“For what?” Eren mumbled.

“For having feelings for me and not a symbol,” Levi replied, his voice low.

Eren turned to him with wide eyes. “W-what? How...”

“Your friends may have said something,” Levi gave Eren a lopsided smile.

“Oh…” Eren turned back to the sheets, but he was beginning to fidget, shifting ever so slowly away from Levi, removing the previous contact they had. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

Oh no. Eren thought that Levi was rejecting him. It hit Levi like a truck. Was it wise to let Eren keep moving away, let him think what he did? Yes, it was, but Levi couldn’t let him do it. Before he even knew what his body was doing, Levi had turned, wiggled his arms free of the blanket and bracketed Eren into the headboard. He studied the eyes staring back at him--his own, but so much more expressive than any mirror had ever shown him--for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Eren’s lips.

When he pulled back, his eyes still closed, Eren groaned softly, something between pained and ecstatic. “That… That was both the best and the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me.” 

Levi snorted. “Why both?”

“Wel, it’s  _ you _ in there, and I never thought you’d actually want to kiss me, but those are also my own lips,” Eren sighed.

After a second, Levi leaned forward, and pressed his face into Eren’s chest, his shoulders shaking. Eren had tensed up and Levi could feel the exact moment when he realized that Levi was laughing. Even with this body that expressed emotion so willfully, Levi’s laughter was just little huffs of breath with a little half squeak type sound at the end that he attempted to muffle. Eren’s arms came up and he squeezed Levi’s shoulders, but thankfully didn’t say anything.

After a few minutes, Levi sat back. “Close your eyes,” he whispered. “Imagine we aren’t like this. That we have our right bodies. That it’s me over here.” When Eren complied, Levi pressed his lips to Eren’s again. The kiss started slow and gentle, gradually deepening as they figured out how to move together. When Levi teased his tongue into Eren’s mouth, the other let out a soft moan and Levi felt that heat pooling between his legs again. He pulled back with a frustrated growl.

“What?” Eren blinked his eyes open. He looked dazed, but there was a little concern in his eyes.

“I’m fucking hard again,” Levi muttered. “This stupid dick wants to join the party way too often.”

Eren let out a bark of laughter and then his ears were bright red and he couldn’t seem to look Levi in the eye. “You know… I--We--We could do something about that.”

Levi blinked at him. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying, Jaeger?”

“It was just a thought!” Eren defended.

“You’re telling me you were squeamish about kissing your own mouth but you’re totally fine with the idea of fucking,” Levi deadpanned.

“Okay, if you say it that way, I take it back,” Eren replied, crossing his arms.

Levi smirked. “I never said no.”

Eren narrowed his eyes and Levi almost started laughing again. “Well, what’s the worst that happens? It’s too weird and we have to stop. I mean, we could probably jerk each other off, that’s not that weird.”

Levi snorted, still holding in his laughter. “That’s very true.”

Eren leaned forward before Levi could say anything more they were kissing again. This time, Eren’s hands were drifting over Levi’s body and… Well, it was clumsy, but it didn’t feel all that bad.

Growing frustrated, though, Levi pushed Eren back against the bed and pressed his lips to Eren’s neck leaving little kisses and licks down the column of flesh in front of him. He wouldn’t lie, it was kind of weird, but Levi didn’t stop. His hands drifted south, gently rubbing Eren through his pants, caressing the cock underneath to full hardness with precise touches. Eren all but shook under him, moaning softly.

Eren’s fingers were shaking slightly as he worked on the buttons of his shirt, stripping it from himself. Levi almost burst out laughing once again when he froze and just stared down at himself with an awed look him his face. “Well,” Eren swallowed thickly. “This isn’t the angle I thought I’d have when I fantasized about this, but oh my god.”

“I swear to god, if you start fondling yourself, I’m walking out of here,” Levi said seriously, but the twitching at the corners of his lips gave his amusement away.

Eren’s eyes shot to him and he huffed. “Well, I mean… It’s  _ you _ .”

Levi covered his mouth with his hand for a second to try and get himself under control and then took the reigns again, stripping off his own shirt and then leaning in to kiss Eren again. The one benefit of this weirdness, he mused, was that he knew exactly where to touch that Eren would be the most sensitive right now. Running his fingers down the chest in front of him, his fingers teased a spot right along his ribs that had Eren gasping.

“God that’s so random,” Eren almost wheezed as pleasure coursed through his veins. “How did you know about that??”

Levi paused and gave Eren a blank stare. “Seriously?”

Eren paused. “Fair. That was a dumb question.”

“Mhm,” Levi smirked as his other hand made quick work of the button in Eren’s pants, tugging them down as Eren wiggled to help him along. After seeing Eren hesitate, Levi pulled his own down as well and then pressed their bodies together.

Eren moaned softly as Levi ground their hips together. God, the sensitivity of this body was off the charts. Levi panted against Eren’s lips at the sensations coursing through him as he thrust their erections together. As his mind started getting hazy from pleasure, he froze.

“W-what’s wrong?” Eren whispered, pressing soft kisses to Levi’s jaw.

Levi sat back and looked over Eren appraisingly. “How are we doing this?”

“What do you mean?” Eren blinked repeatedly, clearly trying to clear his head a bit so he could think.

“Well… I’m a top,” Levi chewed his lip. “So, me, my mind is a top, but so is that body.”

Eren blinked a few more times and then made a sound of frustration. “Just fuck me, oh my god.”

Levi hesitated for another few seconds before shrugging slightly and then went back to work, retrieving a bottle of lube from the drawer and then returning to kiss Eren, grinding them together again.

Eren was gasping into his mouth, trying to speak, but Levi was barely giving him room to breathe, let alone form words. Finally, Eren managed. “I-I w-would… Slow d-down… I-if I w-were you…”

Before the words could even fully process in Levi’s brain, he felt his body go rigid, stars dancing in front of his eyes. Panting harshly, clutching onto Eren’s shoulders, Levi groaned. “What the fuck?” He looked down between them, noting that not only did that feel like an orgasm, it definitely was one. “What in the actual fuck??”

“I tried to warn you,” Eren said sheepishly.

“WHAT the FUCK,” Levi repeated, frustration evident in his voice.

Eren looked torn between exasperation and amusement. “I’m a sixteen year old virgin, what did you expect?”

Levi rested his head on Eren’s shoulder. “I fucking hate this,” he groaned.

“I know,” Eren said gently. “But it still felt good, right?”

Levi pulled back and frowned. “Fuck it. I’m still doing this.”

“What?” Eren blinked in confusion.

Levi slid down Eren’s body and lay between his legs, closing his eyes tightly to block out the sight before him before licking the head of the cock in front of his face. Eren gasped sharply and Levi fumbled slightly, keeping his eyes firmly closed before wrapping a hand around the base of Eren’s cock and sucking the head into his mouth.

“Holy shit,” Eren whispered.

Levi pulled back, eyes still closed. “Yeah, I’m gonna have to ask you not to talk right now.”

Levi heard the slap of skin on skin and he could only assume that Eren covered his mouth with his hand before Levi went back to the task at hand. He sucked Eren’s cock back in, swirling his tongue around it in his mouth and bobbing his head. He could feel Eren’s thighs quivering, and he could hear the muffled little sounds that Eren was trying to hold in. He  _ knew _ this was going to take a while, but if nothing else, Levi was persistent.

Once he had been sucking for long enough that his jaw felt like it was going to break, Eren’s fingers twisted into his hair and tugged harshly, telling Levi all that he needed to know. The cock in his mouth spasmed and Eren was cumming. Well, Levi thought bitterly, that was a flavor he could have gone his whole life not knowing, but then a devious plan flitted through his head.

When Eren finished cumming Levi sat up and pressed his lips to Eren’s opening his mouth when Eren willingly granted him access and spilling the cum he had collected in his mouth into the other’s. Eren’s eyes widened, but he swallowed obediently when Levi ran his fingers over Eren’s throat in a silent command.

When they pulled apart, Levi smirked. “I figure, out of the two of us, you’re probably the one who wanted to know what that tasted like.”

Eren nodded dumbly. “Uh huh…”

Levi snorted out a laugh. “But I swear, if you don’t brush those teeth like it’s your job now, I will  _ never _ do that again.”

Eren’s eyes widened slightly at the threat and he almost shot out of the bed, running to the bathroom attached to Levi’s private quarters on shaky legs. Levi laughed out loud at Eren’s urgency, but suddenly the world started to sway before his vision. Furrowing his brow, Levi tried to stand, only to find himself falling back onto the bed. “Eren?”

Levi heard a thud coming from the bathroom before the world blurred completely out of focus and Levi hit the bed.

 

``~`**`~``

 

Blinking his eyes open, Levi looked slowly around the room with a groan. He was laying on the bathroom floor? There was an awful taste in his mouth and his head was throbbing. Levi reached up and carefully touched his head, his fingers coming away wet and red. Groaning again, Levi stood slowly. Taking in his appearance in the mirror, the first thing he noted was the huge gash on his forehead. Apparently he had fallen and hit his head on the sink, judging by the blood there as well.

Sighing, Levi reached out for a towel to clean the wound before he froze, his eyes flying back to the mirror. Black hair, pale skin, serious bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. Not an inch taller than 5’3”, judging by where the sink came up on his body. Scars. Scars everywhere. Who knew Levi could have missed them.

The bathroom door slammed open. “Captain!”

Levi turned to look at Eren, staring at him with wide eyes. “Eren?”

“Of course!” Eren grinned. “Who else?”

“Well, I just had to make sure that someone else hadn’t crawled into that head this time,” Levi snarked.

“You’re bleeding,” Eren stepped forward and gently touched around the wound with concern in his eyes.

“Yeah, it seems your departure left me to knock myself out on the sink,” Levi shrugged. “It’s fine.”

“Stop that,” Eren frowned and took a firm hold of Levi’s shoulders, pushing him to sit on the closed toilet before he retrieved the first aid kit and went about tending to Levi’s wound. “I don’t think you need stitches…”

“It’s really fine,” Levi tried again.

“I thought after everything you’d know better than to hide your pain from me,” Eren said quietly as he finished putting a bandage over the cut.

“What, do you expect me to cry?” Levi huffed.

“No,” Eren said quickly, but then he sighed. “But you don’t have to pretend it’s nothing either.”

Levi hesitated for a few moments before he reached up and took Eren’s hand, twining their fingers together. “Thank you.”

Eren’s smile was brighter than the sun. “Any time, Captain.”

“We should let Hanji and Erwin know we are back in our right places,” Levi said. “But first, move, I have to brush my teeth. My mouth still tastes like cum.”

Eren laughed softly and stepped backwards, out of the bathroom to get dressed. By the time he was nearly finished strapping up his gear, Levi came out of the bathroom and Eren stared at him openly.

“What?” Levi looked both confused and a little irritated.

“Nothing. Just… I like this angle much better,” Eren shrugged with a lopsided grin.

Levi frowned as the tips of his ears turned pink. “Shut the fuck up, Jaeger.”

“Yes, Sir,” Eren grinned and finished strapping up his gear as Levi made quick work of his own.

Once they were both ready, Levi motioned for Eren to come over. As soon as he was close enough, Levi leaned up into Eren’s space and sucked a dark mark into the caramel skin of his neck. When he was finished, Levi sat back and smirked. “There. Now everyone will know you’re mine.” 

Eren flushed bright red and stuttered helplessly at Levi’s back as the raven walked away.

 

``~`**`~``

 

The next time they had sex, it went a lot better. Even with his healing, Eren couldn’t walk straight for a whole day after. He didn’t complain.

The next time Levi hit Eren, Eren did indeed haul off and punch him in the nose. He broke it. Everyone present to witness the event was shocked when Levi thanked him while Eren fretted over the damage done. People were even more surprised when Eren set Levi’s nose right there, the captain sitting perfectly still for the teen before thanking him again.

Eren’s friends didn’t believe him at first when he answered honestly about the origin of the hickeys that were a near constant on his neck these days. It wasn’t until Levi showed up with one as well, in the exact place that Eren had proclaimed it would be, that they had to admit that Eren had actually managed to land that.

Eren massaged Levi’s leg every time it acted up from then on. It might not have been a fix all, but it helped a little and Levi appreciated it.

Levi was very careful about putting hooks into Eren when in titan form in the future. He only did it if absolutely necessary and never left the hooks in for long, opting instead to cling to Eren’s hair. It was less stable, but more comfortable for the brunette. If he needed to be up there for long periods of time, he sat cradled in Eren’s huge palms.


End file.
